WHITE SWAN, Wash. - Neucor has added laminating capabilities in its lightweight panel operation. With this addition, Neucor can now laminate their own panels in house with no outsourcing involved. Current panel thicknesses range from ¾ inches to 3 inches. Neucor's lightweight cores can be laminated with MDF skin thicknesses ranging from 3mm (1/8 inch) to 8mm (5/16 inch).
The company is using a Black Bros. Co laminator with a HydrEX press. It is a cold press. Cores can be laminated with as little as 15psi.
Neucor also reports that it received our FSC certification in June 2017 and can now ship FSC certified panels at a customer’s request.
Neucor is making a thin MDF panel that is pressed into a shape that acts as a rigid core. Surfaces and edgebanding can be applied to this core to create a finished panel. The weight savings over a traditional panel can be as much as 40 or 50 percent.
Neucor chairman and CEO John S. Fujii is a Washington state businessman with experience in panels and corrugated cardboard material. It is this cardboard process that forms the basis for the Neucor design.
The finished core is sanded to be ½ inch thick, with 1/8-inch faces applied on each side to create a standard ¾-inch panel thickness. The company also offers an 1-1/8-inch panel with 7/8-inch core. The normal product is a 4 x 8 foot panel, but 5 x 8 panels can also be made. The finished core is ½-inch thick.
Originally, the Neucor panel was intended to be used as a core product, but there has been interest in finishing the core itself and using it as an interior panel. See https://www.neucorpanels.com/
For more on Neucor's startup and plant operation, see:
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